Portland’s Immigration Wall

Portland’s Immigration wall is a great way to remember those ancestors who first set foot in Australia at the harbour town. Located on the “Ploughed Field” opposite the Portland hospital and overlooking Portland Bay, the wall has plaques unveiled by grateful descendants of early pioneers to the south-west of Victoria.

The “Ploughed Field” is where Edward Henty ploughed the first sod of earth in Victoria in 1834 with the Henty plough, on display at Portland’s History House.

I know a little of Richard and Jane Price thanks to their grandson’s marriage to my first cousin 3 x removed. Allan James Price married Ada Harman, daughter of Alfred Harman, in 1911. One of the organisers, Lynn Price, invited me to the unveiling of the plaque and family reunion in 2009. I met Lynn via the Rootsweb Western District mailing list. It was disappointing I was unable to attend as a lot of time has gone into remembering the Price family. This is seen at the Price family website. It has photos of the reunion as well as a later event, the unveiling of headstone for Richard and Jane at the Heywood cemetery in 2010.

For more information on how you can see your family on the Immigration Wall, go to the Glenelg Shire website.